The IBJJF Master World Championship 2025 took place from August 28th to 30th, 2025 and just like every year, some of the biggest legends of both BJJ and MMA crossed paths. Demetrious Johnson even stepped on the mats, although he lost his first match by submission and was injured in the process. Most of the rest of the attention was on the younger divisions of course, as there were a number of recent world champions competing. At master 1, Joao Miyao and Carlos ‘Bebeto’ Oliveira stood out in the lighter weight classes as they both won gold medals at roosterweight and light-featherweight respectively.
The divisions above them were a little more packed though, particularly at middleweight where everyone on the podium was a top competitor. Jackson Nagai won that division and Alef Brito took silver, while Johnny Tama was one of the bronze medalists. The medium-heavyweight podium was equally impressive too, with Matheus Luna beating Wellington Sebastiao in the final. Faris Ben-Lamkadem won gold at heavyweight and he also had some tough matches, particularly in the final where he had to beat Horlando Monteiro. One of the bronze medals there went to Dory Aoun too, an IBJJF veteran who is always a game opponent.
There were a few elite female competitors in the master 1 divisions too, with Tayane Porfirio winning both the super-heavyweight and absolute brackets. Although she won the most silverware, there were plenty of other impressive performances. Ffion Davies and Emily Nicholson won gold medals at lightweight and featherweight respectively, while light-featherweight saw the legendary Patricia Fontes come out on top. Melissa Stricker won the heavyweight division and just below her at medium-heavyweight, two top competitors battled it out in the final. Elizabeth Mitrovic won a gold medal there and she had to beat Maggie Grindatti Lira in order to earn it.
The higher age brackets is often where fans get to see some of the biggest names in the sport from years gone by, but the master 2 super-heavyweight champion was actually current contender Rafael Lovato Jr. The female equivalent was Jennifer Case and she had to win an interesting final match against Talita Nogueira, before going on to win the master 2 absolute too. Even further beyond than that were some true pioneers of the sport, as Cassio Werneck took a break from his coaching career to win the master 5 middleweight division and Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias became the master 6 lightweight champion once again.
The full IBJJF Master World Championship 2025 event replay, including all of the above competitors and their matches, can be watched on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
